The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — has already unearthed plenty of talent in Armenia. After travelling to the Khor Virap Monastery and touring the historic dungeon in which Saint Gregory the Illuminator was held prisoner, we were ready to unearth more talent from the depths of Armenia. Today’s hopefuls included a Spanish number and a Depi Evratesil returnee. Did we find the Depi Evratesil 2018 winner among them?

Hayk Kasparov – “Enamorame”

“Enamorame” reviews

Antranig: This is a lot of fun. It may be sung entirely in Spanish but there are Armenian and Western flourishes amidst the Latin inspiration. It is by far the weaker of the two Spanish entries in the Armenian national selection but on its own merit is a very good effort. I don’t expect it to do very well at Depi Evratesil 2018 but this adds great variety to the competition and will — at the very least — be a great dance break in between some ballads.

Score: 7/10

Jonathan: Hayk may be singing in Spanish, but this is weirdly giving me Armenia meets Bollywood – and I am loving every moment of it. The mix of traditional instruments and modern production culminates in a rather catchy and danceable beat. Admittedly, the song’s structure gets a bit weird towards the end, with what feels like three bridges, one after another. Nevertheless, I’ll be dancing along contently when this comes on at the national selection.

Score: 8/10

Luis: This song is a filler for any “Latin” music compilation sold in gas stations around Spain ten years ago. It’s cheap, cheesy and predictable, yet weirdly enjoyable. Would you dance to this drunk in an open-air party in Summer? Absolutely. Does it deserve to go to Eurovision? Not in a thousand years. But props for Hayk, his diction is quite good.

Score: 5/10

Bernardo: Everyone is presenting Latin-inspired tracks except for the ones that could actually do it with quality, meaning Spain. “Enamorame” is just another failed attempt to capitalise the style that made “Despacito” as is, even though it’s remotely different. Hayk’s voice doesn’t work here and his Spanish accent is cringe.

Score: 3.5/10

Robyn: It seems this year that almost every national final is having an obligatory excursion into Latino grooves. But it’s not such a good look that Hayk’s attempt is outshone by the much more fun entry by Kamil. “Enamorame” is a pleasant but forgettable beach jam.

Score: 6/10

Deban: Hayk’s feeble voice is drowned in the heavy instrumentation here. Despite the pandemonium of the production, it still sounds like every other Latin-inspired turbo-folk number. It’s derivative at best and seems to go on for much longer than three minutes.

Score: 4/10

In our Depi Evratesil Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Barnabas: 3/10

Bogdan: 3/10

Chris: 6.5/10

Cinan: 5.5/10

Edd: 7/10

Erdi: 5/10

Lukas: 8/10

Natalie: 7.5/10

Rezo: 4/10

Sebastian: 5/10

 

 

 

 

 

Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 3 and a high of 8.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 5.5/10

Asmik Shiroyan — “You and I”

“You and I” reviews

Chris: There’s not a lot to say in favour of “You and I” in terms of originality… but when the song is this good, does it matter? It’s perhaps the only song of the NF season so far that sounds like it has true chart crossover potential. Yes, Asmik could be any guest performer — but she brings an amazing voice, first and foremost. If she nails the live performance and staging of this, Armenia is right back in the Eurovision hunt.

Score: 8.5/10

Robyn: This is one of the strongest songs in Depi Evratesil 2018, but it’s an odd choice for a diva like Asmik. “You and I” sounds like the sort of generic Europop track released by producers like Sigala and Galantis in 2016. Those artists typically use random session musicians to sing their songs and are not about giving the singer a starring role. The result is that Asmik sounds like an anonymous guest vocalist when she should be the star.

Score: 6.5/10

Bogdan: More at home on a Gay Pride ride than on the Eurovision stage (no shade), “You and I” is an engaging EDM number that would animate a crowd, but would fall on deaf jury ears. However, if Ms Shiroyan wins Depi Evtratesil, we might be onto an unforgettable Euroclub banger. But not a Eurovision winner, I’m afraid.

Score: 6/10

Cinan: YAAAS! This is definitely ready for Eurovision! I love the melody and the way she sings like I’m in a disco and dancing all night by myself. It sounds really familiar by the way (which is good, that means that the song is going to be remembered). I think this one and “Poison” will bring Armenia to the top ten or even top five.

Score: 9/10

Natalie: Bringing the bouncy happiness to Armenia! I love the soul and passion in Asmik’s voice. It suits a great powerful song like this really well. The bouncy beats are so incredibly infectious and blend really well with the joyful theme. I’m well aware that this doesn’t have much going for it aside from playfulness and jumping, but honestly – I’d love to see a song like this at Lisbon. Hope the Eurofans are ready to dance.

Score: 8/10

Edd: WOW. After seeing Asmik’s performance of “Sweet Lovin'” at last year’s Depi Evratesil I dreamed of how incredible it would be to see a classy tropical house song at Eurovision — but never did I believe it could come true! The uplifting banger is production perfection and Asmik’s powerhouse, unique vocals, stunning looks and captivating stage presence will take this to another level. With the right promotion, this could be heard in nightclubs from London to Thailand and launch Asmik into international pop stardom.

 Score: 10/10

In our Depi Evratesil Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Antranig: 4.5/10

Barnabas: 6/10

Bernardo: 7/10

Deban: 6/10

Erdi: 6.5/10

Jonathan: 8/10

Luis: 6/10

Lukas: 9/10

Rezo: 10/10

Sebastian: 10/10

 

 

 

 

 

Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 4.5 and a high of 10.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 7.61/10

Click here to follow all our Armenia Eurovision news

24 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
AngieP
AngieP
6 years ago

Enamórame” Despacito vibes here. It’s not bad but it’s not what I want to hear from Armenia at Eurovision 4/10

“You & I”: Another one I really enjoy! It draws you in immediately. Up-beat, you want to get up and dance. With a couple of ballads so far in the contest, I think it will be a great choice for Armenia. My favourite. 9/10

ArTh
ArTh
6 years ago

Asmik for the Win! This song is just perfect. Fresh and super catchy. Armenia need something fresh for this year

Jenny
Jenny
6 years ago

Loving this song all the way in UK, if this song goes to Lisbon, Armenia is getting 10 points from us, sorry not 12 😉 but what a great song, simply can’t get it out of my head

Hilarous
Hilarous
6 years ago

“YOU & I” Rocks , here is inside scope , powers at be in Yerevan are getting behind ” YOU & I ” song, and just for a twist word on the ground Team Poison is imploding and dysfunctional, seems that team is really “Poisoning” itself how Ironic, keep posted more to come 🙂

Rick Narcoisian
6 years ago

Asmik for the win! just cause it dosent sound ethnic dosent mean it shouldnt win. Aramp mp3 gave armenia its best result and that had no ethnic elements! Hopefully asmik or tamar wins!

Yerevan is calling
Yerevan is calling
6 years ago

No singer from armenia had the best result as Sirusho just like Aram MP3 was 4th with a song with ethnic elements 😉

Rick Narcoisian
6 years ago

was that english? the point is that armenia dosent need to have ethnic elements in a song to do well.

Mark
Mark
6 years ago

“You & I” is a really good song. Armenia always tries to present their local ethnic motives in the contest, but do they really need it now? After 11 years of Armenian inefficiency, it is time to try something new. Eurovision is progressing every year and if you want to get into the top 10 in 2018, your song should be modern and quality. Or at the very least, it should be in line with recent music trends. Armenian national selection is very weak this year, let’s be honest. I see only three worthy candidates to represent Armenia: Asmik Shiroyan,… Read more »

Avat
Avat
6 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Sorry but this is a comment that doesn’t make a sense. In 2013, 2014, 2011 there weren’t Armenian folk influences in the Armenian songs. And it’s funny to consider this early 00s sounding song as the most modern stuff Armenia could have sent to Eurovision. Aram MP3’S, Iveta Mukuchian’s and even Artsvik’s entries were much more innovative and modern than You and I. As for Tamar’s song it sounds much more Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga than Sirusho. As for the quality of Armenian preselection I think your opinion is quite subjective as the most of reactions in youtube underline… Read more »

Rick Narcoisian
6 years ago
Reply to  Avat

completely agree with you mark. armenia dont need ethnic elements in a song to do well. i really like ari ari, however it sounds like everyhting armenia sent from 2006-2010

esc freak
esc freak
6 years ago

“You & I” is my favorite of the selection. Such a great happy song. I don’t like the other one.

Alex
Alex
6 years ago
Reply to  esc freak

Freak and paid Troll

beccaboo1212
6 years ago

OFF TOPIC: Oh, good. More supporters in my petition for Armenia to compete at Junior Eurovision 2018! 🙂

https://www.change.org/p/public-television-company-of-armenia-armenia-to-compete-at-junior-eurovision-song-contest-2018

Cupcakke
Cupcakke
6 years ago

This is a power bop. 10/10. Amsik goes hard (and hopefully she goes to Lisboa and not home).

Avat
Avat
6 years ago

I really find You & I caracterizes the adjective “nothing special ” . It’s like fun bubble when you listen to it you enjoy it and it is surely harmless but when song is over (when bubble explodes ) you totally forget it. This entry sounds like more enjoyable twin sister of UK’s “Legends” with less African shake shake flavour. Anyways can’t get the hype around it. Poison and Qami are by far more memorable, solid entries for Armenia and they both have Armenian passports unlike You & I so. I also support the idea that a song composed by… Read more »

Alex
Alex
6 years ago
Reply to  Avat

Freak !

Ron
Ron
6 years ago
Reply to  Avat

@Avat – I really don’t understand what you mean by “nothing special”. I’m sorry but 97% of the eurovision songs do not introduce anything special that we have not heard or seen before. As long as it’s a good song is enough for me.

Avat
Avat
6 years ago
Reply to  Ron

If you read entire post i wrote you’ll get what I meant 😉 As for good songs Mtv, Grammy, YouTube etc always are available to find something you like and the only reason I follow Eurovision is to watch some stuff I’d never meet there: songs from Serbia and Balkans, songs from tiny European countries that compete with bigger ones etc. Recent period when remarkable part of the songs are exported from Sweden it really annoys me and what I do appreciate in Armenian Public television so far was their credit to local songwriters . For me good song is… Read more »

Hayk
Hayk
6 years ago
Reply to  Avat

The only thing thing you are watching is a new movement of market releasd song . Remember this is a song contest and the best song wlll win . I’m sure Luke the rest of us you are using non Armenia products to get through the day . So either you are a freaking nationalist or simply you have lost touch with reality . The market will always win and the market has no respect for your opinion , this is why it’s called “ART” and in closing FYI the market is reacting for Asmik song all over Europe if… Read more »

James
James
6 years ago

Asmik’s You and I is the best track from this national final season for me. 10/10
I hope she will win national selection. In that case Armenia will be in top 10 for sure.
Asmik has all the qualities for eurovision (beauty, voice, great song). She is the best choice for Armenia. Good luck, Asmik

Kris
Kris
6 years ago

Enamorame: 7.5/10
You and I : 9/10
I really like this one. Armenia needs to send this one if having fun on stage is its motto. My critique is it doesn’t hint at being Armenian at all but a great song. One of my winners.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago

You and I is the biggest grower for me this year. I really did not think much of it when it was first released (I’m sure I wrote a dismissive comment about it somewhere on here) but now, it is probably my favourite song of the entire national final season. It’s an absolutely storming track. Amazing that in Armenia, this might still only be the third best prospect for Eurovision. Golden Age.

Ron
Ron
6 years ago

Asmik’s song is my favorite in DE and I really really hope it will win the national selection. It’s a 10/10 for me.